ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39795
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| Date: | Monday 5 August 1985 |
| Time: | 11:00 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30-320 Twin Comanche B |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N7811Y |
| MSN: | 30-890 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3051 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 5 miles North of Kodiak Municipal Airport, Kodiak, Alaska -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska (ANC/PANC) |
| Kodiak Municipal Airport, Kodiak, Alaska (ADK/PADK) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off (destroyed) August 5, 1985 when crashed 5 miles North of Kodiak Municipal Airport, Kodiak, Alaska: both persons on board were killed. According to a contemporary press report ("The Washington Post" August 8, 1985 - see link #4):
"Robert Harris, His Wife Marie Die in Plane Crash in Alaska
Robert J. Harris, 61, and his wife, Marie Kelleher Harris, 44, of Ocean City, Maryland, were killed Aug. 5 when the private airplane Mr. Harris was piloting crashed while approaching the airport in Kodiak, Alaska.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, a twin-engine Piper Comanche, was making an instrument approach to the field when it crashed due to unknown circumstances. The spokesman said the crash is still being investigated.
Mr. Harris was the chairman of Atlantic Pines Inc. and had been a builder and real estate developer in the Washington area and elsewhere for more than 35 years. He began his career in 1949 when he founded Harris Properties here. He became a specialist in resort development and had worked on a number of projects in Ocean City, Bethany Beach, Del., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
He was born in Elizabeth, N.J. He moved to Washington in 1941 to study at Georgetown University, where he earned bachelor's and law degrees. During World War II, he was a pilot in the Army Air Forces. He lived in Potomac before moving to Ocean City in 1983.
Mrs. Harris was born in Richmond. She graduated from Mary Washington College in 1963. From 1965 to 1975, she lived in Alexandria and worked for Univac Corp. and then for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. She returned to Richmond and became director of communications services for the Virginia Center for the Visually Handicapped. She continued there until marrying Mr. Harris in 1983."
The official NTSB report into the accident states the following:
"DURING A WEATHER BRIEFING AT 07:19 ADT [ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME], THE PILOT WAS ADVISED THAT VFR FLIGHT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. LATER, AT 08:27 ADT. HE CALLED THE FSS TO UPDATE HIS WEATHER & FILED AN IFR CLEARANCE.
AT 09:38, THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED ANCHORAGE. DURING ARRIVAL AT KODIAK, THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEARED FOR AN ILS/DME-ONE APPROACH TO RUNWAY 25. AT 10:56 ADT, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS 8.5 DME MILES NORTH OF KODIAK & LEVEL AT 1,600 FT.
SHORTLY AFTER THAT, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST & THE ELT SOUNDED. LATER, THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND WHERE IT COLLIDED WITH A MOUNTAIN SIDE AT AN ELEVATION OF 1450 FEET. THE CRASH SITE WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES NORTH OF KODIAK AIRPORT, OUTSIDE OF AN AREA WHERE THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH WOULD HAVE TAKEN
THE AIRCRAFT.
THE 10:57 ADT WEATHER OBSERVATION AT THE AIRPORT WAS IN PART: 1,000 FEET SCATTERED, 3500 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY 10 MILES. THE AIRPORT ELEVATION WAS 73 FEET AMSL.
THE WEATHER IN THE MOUNTAINS WHERE THE PLANE CRASHED WAS NOT VERIFIED. THIS WAS THE PILOT'S 1st APPROACH TO THIS AIRPORT. RADAR SERVICES WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE PILOT'S LOG BOOK WAS NOT FOUND.
REPORTEDLY, HE HAD NOT FLOWN MANY RECENT APPROACHES & WAS USED TO HAVING RADAR ASSISTANCE.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
IFR PROCEDURE..NOT FOLLOWED..PILOT IN COMMAND
Contributing Factors:
WEATHER CONDITION..CLOUDS...RAIN...LOW CEILING
LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH GEOGRAPHIC AREA...PILOT IN COMMAND
TERRAIN CONDITION...MOUNTAINOUS/HILLY...RISING"
Registration N7811Y cancelled by the FAA May 9, 2013 (28 years later)
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: ANC85FA146 at https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20001214X37319&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=FA
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=7811Y
3. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/ak/N7811Y/
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/08/08/robert-harris-his-wife-marie-die-in-plane-crash-in-alaska/dc83ff47-b93a-4be8-aac1-2cd9b3dc38b3/?noredirect=onutm_term=.49c9138d4aed
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 03-Apr-2017 17:41 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Apr-2017 17:42 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 03-Apr-2017 17:43 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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